The Benue South Senatorial District
rerun election between Senator David Mark of the People’s Democratic
Party, (PDP) and Comrade Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressives Congress,
(APC) has been scheduled to take place next month by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). According to the judgement
ordering the rerun poll, it must take place within 90 days.

It would be recalled that the Appeal
Court sitting in Makurdi had in November last year, nullified the Benue
South Senatorial District election held in April of which Senator Mark
was declared winner. The court nullified the election on the grounds of
substantial breaches of the Electoral Act. INEC recently said it was
prepared to conduct the ordered rerun in the district.

Candidate of the APC, Onjeh, a much
younger man than his PDP counterpart, had challenged the victory of the
former Senate President at the Election Petition Tribunal, alleging
outright rigging, manipulation of votes and total inducement of the
electorates. But the tribunal upheld the victory of the PDP.

The tribunal presided over by Justice
Dipeolu Mosumola had dismissed Onjeh’s petition against Mark and held
that the petitioner, (Onjeh) failed to prove his case because, according
to the tribunal, the document tendered by the petitioner were mere
hearsay evidence.

Dissatisfied, Onjeh proceeded to the
Appeal Court in his determination to unseat Mark, who, but for PDP’s
loss of its majority status in the Senate during the last general
election, would have likely returned as Senate president for a third
time, from the red chamber. He won and is now poised for a political
showdown with the man many regard as the political godfather of the
Idoma nation.

Too close to call

Ahead of the much anticipated rerun,
anxiety currently pervades the air within the senatorial district in
particular and Benue State in general as regards where the pendulum of
victory will swing. Many analysts are of the opinion that the election
for now, is too close to call.

Dr. Phillip Saror, the state
representative of the Centre for Good Governance (CGG), told our
correspondent that either of the two candidates can emerge victorious at
the end of the rerun election. According to him, opinions and
preferences are sharply divided over the duo and their political
parties.

“The coming election is not easy to
predict. It is not just about the candidates, it is also about their
political parties. While it is unimaginable to say Onjeh, a political
upstart, will defeat Mark, who is the undisputed godfather of Idoma
politics, it is also difficult to say PDP will defeat APC anywhere in
Benue state today.

It is not just about whether or not Mark
can emerge victorious again. It is also about whether the people of
Benue are willing to trust PDP again. A lot of factors will come to bear
on the election and at the end of the day, the outcome will go a long
way in showing how the people of the senatorial district view Senator
Mark’s numerous years as a political office holder,” he said.

There have been strong agitations from
some quarters within the senatorial district for Mark to pave the way
for someone else, especially the younger generation, to represent Benue
South at the National Assembly. The former Senate President has occupied
the senate seat of the district since the return to civil rule in 1999,
making him the longest serving senator in the country.

But not a few are saying the legislative
experience garnered by Senator Mark since 1999 should not be allowed to
waste away. Such people believe that Mark is capable and can deliver
dividends of democracy. To them, another term for him to serve his
people as a Senator is not too much for a man of his political status.

“Many don’t want to see the former
Senate President disgraced politically, so they are urging the people to
consider his political pedigree in the country and give him another
chance. But the younger generation appears inpatient with Mark. Left to
them, he is already on his way out,” Saror said.

There is also the issue of whether the
people of the district will want to remain in the opposition party. The
Deputy Governor of Benue State, Benson Abounu, said that it would amount
to political suicide if the Idoma people follow Mark blindly into
opposition.

“Do we now join the opposition today
because David Mark wants to go for his fifth term as senator? Why does
he still need four years at the Senate when in 16 years, eight of which
he spent as the Senate President, he has been such a disappointment? Why
does David Mark want the Idoma people to mortgage our future,” he
asked?

The Deputy Governor, who hails from the
same local government with the former Senate President, called on the
people of Idoma land to embrace the wind of change, reject the sinking
PDP and vote for Comrade Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) in the re-run election.

But the PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja recently, said the
confidence of the party of retaining the senatorial seat is even
stronger now that the alleged deceit of the ruling APC has become
obvious to all Nigerians.

Metuh described Mark as an asset to the
nation, adding that he was sure the people of Benue-South would give him
another resounding victory at the rerun election. He urged PDP
supporters in Benue-South to resist any attempt to intimidate them,
“especially in their determination to ensure an effective and
result-oriented representation in the Senate.”

Last minute maneuvers

Perhaps conscious of the need to keep
seeking the votes till the very last minute, the two contenders are now
in a rat race for the support of the voters. Efforts to garner supports
and endorsements are in top gear and the people of the district are
being carried along in many ways.

The senatorial district’s chapter of the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) recently endorsed Mark for the
re-run election. A statement by Mark’s media aide, Paul Mumeh, said, the
former senate president was endorsed by the Benue South chapter of CAN
during a solidarity visit.

The statement quoted the Chairman of the
CAN chapter, Reverend Father Emmanuel Odufu, as saying the endorsement
was a unanimous decision of their followers. “For us, we are pleased and
very comfortable with you. Your sterling leadership qualities and
record of achievements speak for you. We stand by you and we shall be
with you all through,” Odufu reportedly said.

The group listed various projects
attracted by Senator Mark to the zone to include but not limited to the
Multi-Purpose Otobi Water Dam, the Oweto/Loko Bridge, health centres,
schools and more importantly, the annual scholarship awards to students.

However, Idoma elders have thrown their
weight behind Comrade Onjeh and the APC for the seat at the National
Assembly. The group, under the aegis of the Idoma Elders’ Union,
endorsed Onjeh as their candidate while advising Mark to bury his
re-election bid.

Speaking to newsmen in Makurdi, Okpokwu
Ogenyi, the coordinator of the group said Mark does not believe that any
Idoma man or woman can attain any position of high responsibility
without his approval which he will never give unless allegiance is paid
to him.

“Mark is looking for a way to cover his
shame as the people of Idoma are no longer ready to be further enslaved.
Our position is that we want someone else to represent us at the
National Assembly and that person is Daniel Onjeh. He is a young man we
feel is capable of attracting development to Idoma land,” he said.

The candidates

Since the inception of the democratic
experiment in 1999, former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has
remained in the National Assembly as the senator representing Benue
South. He surmounted several spirited efforts to unseat him.

Among those he defeated to remain the
longest serving Senator in the country are General Geoffrey Ejiga (rtd),
Major General Lawrence Onoja (rtd) and Alhaji Abubakar Mai Shano. He
also overcame several attempts to get him unseated by the tribunals and
the courts.

Before emerging a senator of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria in 1999, Mark had served the country as Minister of
Communication and the Military Governor of Niger State during the
military rule of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. A highly respected
chieftain of the PDP, he is seen as one of the closest to former
Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

Comrade Daniel Onjeh became known in the
country through his activities as a student union leader. He was the
Zonal Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students,
(NANS) Zone A between 2001 and 2002. He was then a student of the
Federal University of Technology, Minna.

In 2002, he contested and got elected as
the President of NANS. His many battles with the Olusegun Obasanjo-led
government back then endeared him to many Nigerians. He was rusticated
from school on account of his activism. He was also arrested and
detained on several occasions by the authorities.

He emerged as the senatorial candidate
of the APC in the last National Assembly election and during the
disputed election; he was in early lead until the result began to change
leading to the eventual declaration of Senator David Mark as the winner
by INEC